ragnarok0mega

Alright...my car is a '92 prelude SI automatic (please dont move this to the prelude forum) i realize that this is a far cry from an accord, but our cars share very simmilar automatic transmissions, as well as countless simmilarities in engine components... I've asked this question in multiple prelude forums, but as the general answer is "ah well, time for a 5 speed swap" I was hoping maybe the accord fans would have an answer for me to get my auto tranny back in good health again.

Long story ahead, i put a quick review of the majority of the issue on the last paragraph if you dont feel like reading through it all.

A little back history. Bought the car with about 180,000 on the odo, the engine had 3 holes in the block, we replaced with another one and reused the auto tranny that came with it. We filled it with regular ol dexron, as neither me or my friend had much experience with automatic transmissions (or at least how they act when emtpy of fluid and refilled) we added the amount indicated by the manual, and when the car was slipping really hard, acting as if there were not enough fluid, we added more. I know now that the reason it was doing that is it just took a long time for the fluid to reach the torque converter and other parts of the transmission....needless the say, the fluid was overfilled by a quart or two. Drove like that till recently when i got tired of the really hard shifts, and it acting like it was engine braking hard everytime i took my foot off the gas...bought honda auto tranny fluid, drained and filled to specs. Car drove fine that night (did about 5 miles or so, shifted AMAZING)The next morning, while driving to work, the transmission started slipping. On the way home it slipped worse, i shut her off and turned her back on, and that seemed to allow me to get to 4th gear, and i drove home fine (as long as it didnt shift down, if it did, i had to shut her off mid roll and turn her back on to allow it to shift up without slipping) The next day, i turned her on, drove up the street, 1st shift was fine, 2nd shift was fine, 3rd shift it flares upon upshift, 4th shift it flares worse, 5th shift wont happen unless i let off the gas to allow it to stop flaring, after that the slipping becomes so bad that its unable to shift any more and progressively gets worse untill its acting as if its in neutral while in drive. The number of shifts dont matter in regards to what gear i'm in, if i constantly shift from 1st to 2nd as in stop and go traffic, i have 5 (semi) usable shifts before it fails. Reverse works, every time, regardless of if the forward gears slip. After these problems began, i drained, and filled a good 4 to 5 times using cheap walmart dexron 3 fluid (i know, its not honda fluid, but its within specs, and i didnt want to sell my soul on fluid that may not have even been the problem) I even tried the lucas stop slip in a last ditch resort to try and solve this...all to no avail.

The d4 light does blink, but its not consistent, which led me to believe the TCM was bad (there was corrosion inside as well) it would indicate codes 7 and 8 sometimes, but if i shut the car off, it would either occasionally stop blinking, and when i jumped the connector, it wouldnt indicate any codes other than 15 (mainshaft speed sensor) and at times, it would indicate codes 1 2 7 and 8 together. I didn replace the shift and lock up solenoids with a set off an accord in the local junkyard. and while that seemed to fix the problem, for the most part, i would get a code 7 on occasion while driving, and it would prevent me from shifting, but if i turned the car off, and back on (usually had to be while moving in order for it to work) the code would go away, and the car would shift like normal again (this is before the slipping began) So with all this in mind, and finding accords of the same year had TCM issues, i replaced mine. While there has been no change in the slipping issue, it no longer indicates a code 15...it does however occasionally indicate a code 8 (shift solenoid b) but again, upon cycling the ignition, it goes away sometimes, and sometimes comes back...its not a consistent issue...i'm not sure what that means.

Also, when driving it, i hear a high pitched whine from the transmission, while not as pronounced, or at the same pitch as when in reverse, its as close as i can think of to give an idea of what i'm talking about. I also can here a swishing sound coming from the transmission when parked and i'm in the engine bay listening...it could just be me being hypersensitive to the sound NOW, and ignoring it before, but i feel like i've never heard that sound before.

I'm sorry this is is such a long post, and not even in the correct forum, but i'm really hurting for some answers here. I dont feel like the forward clutch packs are gone, because they ARE useable for the first few minutes of driving, obviously the TCM wasnt the problem, as i replaced it with no change. I dont believe the filter is clogged, as that would disable reverse from working as well wouldnt it? I know a 5 speed swap IS in my immediate future, as this transmission is aging, but it is my daily driver, and i'm getting a second job in the next month and need a vehicle to drive....Any help...ANY suggestions on how to get the transmission back to running condition would be VERY VERY VERY appreciated.

A review for quick reading so theres no need for the story. Transmission slips get continually worse through 5 shifts of any gear, first 2 shifts are near perfect, after the 5th, it will not shift any longer, and gets worse untill it acts as if its in neutral. Reverse works fine still, replaced the tcm with no change. Fluid was drained and filled about 6 times total. Occasionally get a code for shift solenoid b, which was replaced once before, and the code goes away on its own after cycling the ignition.

Thanks for reading, and for ANY help you can give....

pickleboo

it appears that your torque converter might need to be replaced, you talk about adding fluid and changing it and it's either gotten better or worst. So this is why I think that your car needed a new torque converter. It's suck to hear this but that the only thing that I could think of. and if you don't mine spending a little bit more just replace the whole transmission since your going to replace the converter anyway that way you don't constantly missing with it twice and you mention your car has a lot of millage on it.Since when did you change your converter? I know that it goes out sometime. just go get it at the junkyard for your year, hope this help